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Post by Oweena on Feb 24, 2018 14:00:00 GMT -5
"The Further Adventures of an Idiot Abroad" by Karl Pilkington. If you've watched the TV show, you have an idea how it was. Fairly amusing because I didn't have to listen to Ricky Gervais and Stephan Merchant, who I like sometimes but not in The Idiot Abroad shows. I can't quite believe that Karl is "real" and not just a character the guy plays. Some of what he says MUST be for effect. I agree that Karl can't be that much of a rube, yet I still enjoyed the TV show. Awhile back I bought the book for The Man. I should find it and give it a read.
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Post by sprite on Feb 24, 2018 16:32:50 GMT -5
i haven't read 'girl on a train' but i did read 'gone girl.' both main characters were self-obsessed, but i felt that i had more sympathy for the female--the man was such a child.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Feb 24, 2018 20:43:59 GMT -5
21. Body in the Woods, Alison Golden. I'm still unsure about the Reverend Annabelle! While set in England, it is obviously written for an American audience, as can be seen from the recipes at the end. The mystery was a bit improbable to me, though I did like some of the characters. One thing that did grate: no Australian Anglican would use the word Reverend as a noun. We would either call her Vicar or Annabelle.
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Post by Liiisa on Feb 25, 2018 18:53:41 GMT -5
12) Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
This is an extended, sometimes humorous meditation on writing - it contains some how-to advice on writing and some other nice advice on how to stay sane in the world. Enjoyed
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Feb 26, 2018 5:31:22 GMT -5
22. Cracking the Code, Leah Kaminsky with Stephen and Sally Damiani. My latest audiobook. This book is brilliant. As someone with an interest in genetics who works with children with disabilities, I was entranced by the family's passion to find out what was wrong with their son, and how to help him. And they are Australian, though it took some of the world's best minds to solve the problem. What they did has led to huge advances in the use of genetics in medicine, which I have been seeing in some medical reports I have received.
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Post by Oweena on Feb 26, 2018 21:44:13 GMT -5
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth.
Story of a young girl in the late 1980s-early 1990s coming to terms with her homosexuality around the same time her parents die in a car crash. The descriptions of her friendships, family relationships, and small town life rang true.
It was one of those books where I didn't want it to end so I would only read a bit at a time.
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Post by Webs on Feb 27, 2018 22:55:08 GMT -5
I finished the 3rd book in the Broken Earth Trilogy by NK Jemisin, "The Stone Sky"
I'm not sure if this is an alternative earth, or a post apocalyptic earth or a pre history earth but it's been a fascinating journey and world to explore. The protagonist is a complicated woman and it was great to read a book where no one gets raped.
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Post by lillielangtry on Feb 28, 2018 7:41:18 GMT -5
Sasha Marianna Salzmann, Außer sich I think this hasn't been translated into English yet although it was a nominee for the German Book Prize, so maybe it will be. It follows a woman whose twin brother has disappeared. She goes to Istanbul to try to find him, and there are Long excursions into Family history - they are originally Russian Jews. There's also quite a theme of gender-fluidity. It's a debut novel that is trying to do a lot, possibly too much, but I liked it and I think we can expect more from the author (who is also a playwright).
Elvira Dones, Sworn Virgin A novel from Albania (although written in Italian) centering on the cultural Tradition of the "sworn virgin" - ie a woman in rural Albania who "became" a man, cut her hair short and wore men's clothes and took a man's name and role in Society. She might do this, for example, if there was no other male relative left in her Family. The author did a lot of Research and also made a documentary about the last of These women. The novel focuses on Hana/Mark, who emigrates to the US, and it swaps between the Story of how she became Mark and how she integrates in the US and Returns to life as a woman. This could have been a much heavier book than it was - the tone is mostly light and it's quick to read. The style rather reminded me of Elif Shafak. I enjoyed it.
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Post by Webs on Mar 8, 2018 17:18:51 GMT -5
19. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett. I would rate the first two-thirds of this book as a 3 or even less, as I had trouble finding a hero I could identify with, as I do in most science fiction. However, the action and magic accelerated in the last third, and finally drew me in! Pratchett's universe is astonishing. You're not supposed to identify with Rincewind as much as you're supposed to laugh at him. Have you ever watched any of the Hope/Crosby "Road" movies? He's the Hope character.
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